Cox Raising Cable Rates For Many Customers

June 27, 2001|By STACY WONG; Courant Staff Writer

Cable TV rates will go up as much as 20 percent for some Connecticut customers of Cox Communications, which on Tuesday announced rate changes for its standard and basic service packages, and increases in installation fees.

The company cited higher programming costs for the increases to its standard service package, which carries about 70 channels. The rate changes affect about 150,000 cable customers in the Enfield, Manchester and Meriden service areas.

``It's like any other retail relationship -- when our wholesale costs go up, it affects our prices,'' said John Wolfe, Cox's vice president for governmental relations and public affairs.

Charges for basic service, which offers fewer channels, will drop in the Meriden area, starting Aug. 3, but will rise for Manchester and Enfield area towns.

These rates, and the changes in the installation and service fees, are regulated by the federal government and monitored by the state for compliance. Rates for standard service, or ``enhanced basic,'' are not regulated.

Cox last raised cable rates about a year ago by an average of 7.4 percent across the state. Wolfe said the company would eventually like to get its communities at one price point that is competitive with satellite television rates.

Enfield area residents will see the monthly fees for the standard package rise $5 a month, from $32.99 a month to $37.99 a month, a 15.2 percent increase. The basic package, which includes fewer channels, will rise from $8.96 a month to $10.75 a month, a 20 percent increase.

Manchester area towns will see their standard package charges rise 8 percent, to $38.99 a month, and their charge for basic service rise from $9.03 to $9.15 a month.

Meriden area residents will see a 17.6 percent decrease in the basic package charge, dropping from $13.06 to $10.75 a month. They will see a 10.5 percent increase in their standard package, which rises $3.50 a month, to $36.99.

Customers should receive letters from Cox 30 days before the new charges appear on their bills.

Cox also plans to add the Outdoor Life, Sci Fi, Country Music Television and Speedvision channels to its standard service lineup, starting Aug. 3.

``We're very disappointed that rates are going up,'' said Phyllis Trowbridge, a staff attorney with the state's Office of the Consumer Counsel. ``We're disappointed that the expanded tier is not regulated. There is no competition.''

No one has applied for the statewide cable franchise that Southern New England Telephone gave up earlier this year. That franchise territory extended from Bloomfield down to Fairfield County, and overlapped Cox's territory only in the Meriden area.

Cox's new cable rates

* Subscribers to Cox Communications' limited basic cable TV service in Meriden will see rates decrease. but all other Cox customers in Connecticut will see rate increases ranging from 1.3 to 20 percent.